Memorial Services Update
January 12, 2010
Mariah and Mom, Mary-O King, at the Ft. Myer Therapeutic Riding Program (2009)
Saturday, January 16, at 2:30 pm, a Quaker Memorial Meeting for Worship service will be conducted at Bethesda Friends Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. The service will be in the fashion of Quakers, featuring an hour or more of respectful silence punctuated by brief, spontaneous spoken messages that help us recall and feel connected to Mariah and to one another. A reception on the grounds will follow the meeting for worship. All are welcome, but seating is limited to about 200. Child care will be provided.
The meeting house is on the campus of the Sidwell Friends Lower School located in a residential neighborhood. There is some parking on the grounds, but if you are able-bodied, please park on a street in the surrounding neighborhood so that those less abled may park close by.
The meeting house address is 5100 Edgemoor Ln, Bethesda, MD 20814. You can get directions and a Google map at http://www.bethesdafriends.org/directions.html.
Please do not send flowers or gifts. If you wish to make a charitable donation in Mariah’s name, consider contributing to Little Brook Farm. See https://mariahsreemergence.com/2010/01/03/mariah-kochavi-memorial-contributions/ for instructions on how to do that.
Last Wednesday, January 6, a Moment of Remembrance for Mariah was observed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC., where Mariah resided and worked on rehab for the last year. Attending were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of her fellow soldiers from the Warrior Transition Brigade, her commanders, doctors, therapists, caregivers and family. A poster-sized photo of Captain Kochavi gazing lovingly at us (left) was on display at the front of the assembly during the ceremony. Mariah’s presence in the hall was so real I half expected her to stride in quietly and take a seat.
The outpouring of condolences is so heartening. Mail, email, comments on this blog, and phone calls expressing sympathy and offering support pour in from around the country. Please continue to hold Mariah’s family in your hearts and prayers.
– Mark
Mariah's Reemergence 
Thank you Mark for continuing to keep us all up to date. I miss Mariah. I was able to visit her with my dad in June 2008 and with my family when she was in Richmond in September 2008. I have followed Mariah’s progress through your blogs from the beginning. My daughter, Rachel, and I tried to see her this summer, but it didn’t work out. People at my church have been praying for her. I’m glad that I will be able to be there this weekend as we remember Mariah and celebrate her life.
I remember you, Mary O and Clay in prayer.
With love, Janet King Daw (Mariah’s cousin)
“Just listen”
I was reluctant to attend the memorial meeting. I had just returned home after ten days of travelling for memorial services of fellow warriors who had fallen in Afghanistan, and I was anxious to return to less solemn endeavors.
Although reluctant, I decided to “proceed as the way opened”. When I arrived at the school, a crow was calling from the tallest tree; it called about every twenty seconds, creating a rythm.
The words “Just listen” came to me, and I stopped in mid-stride…
During a kayak session at Walter Reed, I had related to Mariah my experience with a thereaputic riding program and told her I had been partnered with a horse that did not like to be touched – especially by men – but allowed me to groom him with no resistance. I said “As a Veterinarian, I guess you know the reason for that, but I wish the horse could tell me.” And Mariah, with an earnestness best appreciated by another brain-injury surviver, said… “Just listen.”
I don’t know how to characterize those two words – lesson, observation, premonition, prophecy? – but they have proven to be very valuable to me. (A few days later, I listened to the horse and learned why he trusted me)
Mariah is an “animal person”. I am not, but I have other friends who are. Some of them are native americans I spent time with in Washington state. They shared with me a cultural belief that when a crow calls out, creating a rythm like the crow on Saturday afternoon, it is announcing that someone’s spirit has just traversed the path from physical death to eternal spiritual life.
I attended the meeting, and remained for a while at the reception, and discovered why I was there: I told a few people about the crow and what it might mean, and they seemed comforted by it.
When I left the school, I looked for the crow, but it was gone. It did not need to be there, it did not need to call out anymore — I had already listened.
Thank you, Mariah. I will continue to listen.
Gunny Don
Mark, Mary O King, Ramon, et al:
I have been a friend of Mariah’s for nearly 3 years. I met her for the first time in early 2007 when I was a physician at Fort Meade, and we worked together for the Rabies and Bite program for Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center. She later became our personal Veterinarian. I was struck by her caring, dedication, thoughtfulness, candor, and beauty. Moreover, being 1/2 Israeli, I was further struck by her amazing ability to speak Hebrew. Then I met Ramon, and we all really hit it off.
Together, Mariah, Ramon and I went on numerous boat trips, kayaking, and spent time together. The last time we spent together before her stroke was in June 2008, kayaking on the Patapsco River together. I did manage to visit her multiple times in the hospital and Virginia VA subsequently.
We all really miss Mariah, but knowing that she is in a better place doing her thing in Heaven is enough for me.
I wanted to wish my most sincere condolences to her family and loved ones, and hope they find solace. I have numerous digital photos of her & Ramon which may not be previously published, if interested.
Respectfully,
Tzvi Robbins, MD
Friend of Mariah